1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device to enhance an ear bud in which the ear listening device is maintained in place and, in some embodiments, includes a small speaker and the device provides noise reduction.
2. Description of Related Art
Ear buds are listening devices designed for placement in the concave portion of the listener's ear or auricle, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,838. By design, ear buds are “open air” devices and do not provide isolation from ambient noise to which the listener may be exposed.
Devices for sound isolation are known and are used in many settings including settings where a high degree of isolation from high volume external noise may be desirable. In settings with lower volume external noise, devices that provide lesser degrees of isolation may be desirable. Industrial use devices, typically intended to provide a high level of isolation from surrounding noise, may form a tight seal against the wearers head to isolate the entire ear or form a tight seal within the external auditory canal. Such an approach allows a tight seal between the ear pad and the user's head or between the in-ear device and the external auditory canal, resulting in isolation of the ear drum from surrounding sound and marked and measurable reduction in sound pressure level from ambient sound. U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,361 discloses an acoustic ear muff which includes a pad or cup which is made of rigid material and incorporates an opening for receiving one ear of the wearer. A resilient sealing annulus is intended for abutment with the head of the wearer. The ear muff also includes a resilient pressure-exerting means connected to the shell of a protective helmet, a head strap or like head gear. The ear muff provides good acoustic damping and a high degree of comfort, owing to the fact that the resilient pressure-exerting means is configured to produce a low pressing force substantially independently of head sizes which vary within given limits. This type of industrial device, providing a high degree of sound isolation, may be unnecessary in an environment requiring only a modest amount of sound isolation.
An additional characteristic of ear bud headphones is the typically (or, “commonly”) insecure position of the transducer relative to the listener's ear due to features of the devices and users, including light weight and small size of the ear buds as well as variations in ear anatomy among users. This may result in the ear buds falling out of the auricular (or “ear”) canal and/or assuming a position that provides suboptimal and inconsistent sound quality. U.S. Patent Application No. 2008/0310666 describes an adaptation device that removably attaches to ear bud style headphone(s) and provides improved security and retention of the ear bud to a wearer's ear yet positions the speaker in substantially the same distance relative to the concha and/or ear canal of a wearer as a wearer would ordinarily wear an ear bud. The adaptation device includes a hook having a frontside portion and a backside portion. The frontside portion of the hook is sized and shaped for positioning the ear bud roughly upside-down relative to a wearer's ear and for positioning the speaker of the ear bud generally over the auditory canal and generally within the concha and/or the auditory canal of the ear. The backside portion of the hook is sized and shaped to hook over the top of the helix to the backside of the wearer's ear along the backside of the auricle. A holding means is used for holding an ear bud headphone by the stem of the ear bud, the holding means located on the frontside of the hook.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0144878 relates to an ear bud adapter which includes an adapter body having a first side, a port or projection extending from the first side, and a second side. The second side is generally configured to be releasably attachable to an ear bud or ear bud-type headphone which would be positioned in the outer ear during use. The projection may include a sleeve attached thereto. The projection or the projection and sleeve are generally configured to extend into the ear canal of a user. A sleeve or foam cover is positioned over the sleeve to provide a contact surface which generally conforms to the user's ear canal shape when at least a portion of the sleeve is positioned therein. The above described ear bud adapters require a specific anatomy which an individual wearer may not exhibit, given the variability of human ear anatomy and none provide sound isolation while providing security of position. Additionally, the adapter has the shortcoming that it attaches to the transducer itself rather than a separate device that is universal for use of all in-ear devices.
Attempts to isolate the sound have focused on electronic noise canceling technologies or sound proofing ear muffs commonly used for hearing protection in industrial and aviation settings. Electronic methods of sound reduction do not isolate the ear from surrounding noise but provide an electronic means to neutralize certain types of external, ambient sound. U.S. Pat. No. 7,177,433 describes a method and apparatus for improving the audibility of sound from a loudspeaker located close to an ear, including the steps of detecting ambient acoustic noise arriving from other sound sources, using a transducer that provides corresponding ambient sound signals, inverting the polarity of the ambient sound signals and combining them with the signals being fed to the loudspeaker to reduce the audibility of the ambient acoustic noise, and passing the ambient sound signals through a filter having a predetermined average transfer function that compensates for the spectral modification of sounds travelling from the loudspeaker to the ear caused by the proximity of the ear of a listener in use. The devices require electronic components with external power, such as from batteries.
It is desirable to provide an improved device to enhance an ear bud by using the natural contours and inherent acoustic properties of the ear to enhance the quality of sound, increase the security of the ear bud's position in the wearer's ear canal and provide isolation from ambient noise that can interfere with delivered audio material.